Machine for branding and polishing hams, bacon, or the like.



PATENTED JULY l1, 1 905.

R. WRTH. MACHINE FOR BRANDNG AND POLSHING HAMS, BACON, 0R THE LIKE.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 16. 1905' 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

my m Quo lllllllnw PATEN'IED JULY Il, 1905.

R. WIRTH. MACHINE POR BRANDING AND POLISHING HAD/IS, BACON, 0R THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JANv 16, 1905,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Inni a ITI.- lun. f

PATENTED JULY Il, 1905.

R. WIRTE. MACHINE FOR BRANDING AND POLISHING HAMS, BACON, OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16. 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

PATENTED JULY 11, 1905.

R. WIRTH. MACHINE FOR BRANDING AND POLISHING HAMS, BACON, 0R THB LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16. 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4:.

PATENTED JULY111905.

R. WIRTH,

MACHINE FOR BRANDING AND POLISHING HAMS, BACON, 0R THE LIKEk l APPLICATION FILED IAN. 16. 1905.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

UNTTED STATES Patented July 11, 1905.

PATnNT .tripa RUDOLPH IVIRTH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO GUSTAV STEIN- METZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR BRANDING AND POLISHING HAMS, BACON, 0R THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,440, dated July 11, 1905.

Application filed Jallllay 16, 1905. Serial No. 241,317.

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH IVIRTH, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Branding and Polishing Hams, Bacon, or the Like, of which the following' is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for applying brands, trade-marks, and similar indicia of origin or ownership to cured meats-such as hams, flitches of bacon, and the like-and has for its general object to provide a simple and reliable machine of this class capable of handling either hams or Hitches of bacon and marking with uniform distinctness and accuracy widely-varying sizes of either.

Another object of the invention is to provide in intimate association with the branding mechanism a cleaning and polishing mechanism adapted to render clearer and more distinct the brand or mark, as well as to generally improve the appearance of the articles subjected to the machine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine wherein the articles treated thereby may be handled with a maximum of expedition and despatch and in rapid succession.

Other minor objects and aims of the invention will appear later in the subjoined description.

My invention in an approved mechanical form is embodied in the machine shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein.-

Figure 1 is an elevational view of one side of the machine. Fig. 2is asimilar elevational view of the opposite side of the machine. Fig. 3 is a front elevational view with certain parts in the foreground omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 4 is a rear elevational view. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the saddles or seats supporting the hams during their passage through the machine. Fig.

6 is a detail end View of Fig. 5, partly broken out, to illustrate the means for adapting the device to seat sides or iiitches of bacon; and Figs. 7 and 8 are detail isolated views of a stop mechanism for preventing overthrow of the endless carrier.

The main operating parts of the machine are mounted on a suitable supporting-frame, which mayin the simple fornrshown comprise a series of legs or uprights 10 on either side connected by longitudinal and transverse connectingbars or rods 1I and I2, respectively. Mounted in and between the opposite ends of said frame are shafts 13 and la, the former carrying just inside the side 'frame members a pair of large sprockets I5, and the latter' similarly carrying a pair of large sprockets 16. Ovcrthealined pairs of sprockets l5 and 16 are trained sprocket-chains 17, said chains carrying between them a series of rectangular supporting-plates I8. (Shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6.) rI`hese plates are preferably attached to and mounted on the chains through the provision of a pair of transverse angle-irons .19, secured across either end thereof on their under sides, said angle-irons each having near one end a pivotpin 20, suitably journaled on the sprocket-chain, and near the other end having slot 2l engaged by a similar pivot-pin 22, carried by the chain, the play thus afforded facilitating the travel of the plates where 75 the chains pass in a semicircular path around the sprockets at each end of the machine. The plates constituting the upper section of the endless carrier are supported against the sag'- gng of the chains by means of rollers 21, mounted on posts 22, supported on certain of the cross frame-bars I2, said plates being further supported against sagging on the lower run of the carrier by rollers 20 on the ends of the pins 21 and 22, engaging the lower horizontal frame-bars Il, as shown in Fig. 3. Surmounting each of the plates I8 is a saddle or seat 22 for hams, comprising, as shown in Fig. 5, a rectangular frame beveled and concaved on its upper and inner edges conform- 90 ably to the general contour of the lower side of the ham and removably and adjustably secured to the plate, as bya pair of short angleirons 23, fastened to opposite ends thereof land having slotted bases engaged by thumbscrews 24C. To render the plates 18 interchangeable for either hams or bacon, the up# per surface of the plate 18 is provided with a pair of upstanding pins or spurs 25, (clearly shown in Fig. 6 and indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5,) on which when saddle 22 has been removed the flitch of bacon is impaled, thereby rendering it stationary relatively to the plate during the branding and polishing operations, but readily removable by simply lifting the same off the plate. In order to avoid interference between the spurs 25 and the saddle 22, the lower faces of the ends of the latter may be hollowed out to accommodate the spurs, as shown at 26 in Fig. 6.

Surmounting the main horizontal frame of the machine are a pair of parallel standards 27, in and between the upper ends of which is journaled a driving-shaft 28, carrying fast and loose pulleys 29 and 30, respectively, and on its overhanging end a pinion 31. This latter meshes with and drives a large gear 32 ony the same endl of an underlying shaft 33, also journaled in and between the standards 27, which shaft has on its opposite end a crankarm 34,'that is connected by a connecting-rod 35 with one arm of a bell-crank lever 36, pivoted at 37 to one of the legs 10 of the machine-frame, the other arm of said bell-crank being joined by a connecting-rod 38 to an arm 39, loosely hung on the overhanging end of shaft 14. The latter shaft has fast thereon behind the arm 39 a ratchet-disk 40, that is engaged by a pawl .41, pivoted on the arm 39, whereby the sprocket-chains and the supporting-plates carried thereby are given an intermittent travel always in one direction,

. head 42, pendent from which and connected thereto by a universal joint is a brandingiron 33. This latter is of a common and well-known type and constitutes in itself no part of the present invention. The crosshead 42 is suspended by a pair of vertical arms 43 and rollers 44 projecting laterally from the upper ends of the latter upon the periphery of a pair of duplicate cams 45, mounted on the shaft 33. Thel height of the branding-iron 43 is roughly adjusted by providing a series of holes 43a, 43h, and 43c in the arms 43 to receive the spindles of the rollers 44. A fine adjustment of the crosshead on its supporting-arms is secured by screw-and-slot connections 46 and 47 between said parts, as shown in Fig. 3. It is desirable to regulate the gravity effect of the branding-iron and the parts which support the same, since the branding effect is produced solely by the gravity effect of`said parts, and the clearness or distinctness of the brand depends upon imparting just the right amount of pressure to the ham through the branding-iron. For this purpose 1 employ a loose sleeve 48 on the shaft 33, said sleeve having a hub 49, to which is attached the upper end of a chain 50, the lower end of which is connected centrally to the crosshead 42, and from the opposite side of the sleeve to that on which the upper end of the chain is wound there extends rearwardly an army 51, carrying a counterweight 52'adjustable thereon. From this it will be seen that while the counterweight is not intended to and does not overbalance the entire weight of the cross-head and branding-iron, yet it acts to overbalance a portion of said weight, the

v exact proportion being'regulable by adjusting the counterweight on its arm so as to produce the desired gravity effect in the branding-tool.

As shown in the side elevational views, Figs. 1 and 2, the forward or receiving end of the machine-frame is inclined downwardly slightly, so that with the endless plate-carrier traveling in the direction indicated by movements A simple means for such purpose is illustrated in Figs. 1,'7, and 8, wherein 53 designates a circular member fast on shaft 14 inside of the ratchet-disk 40 and provided with a series of radial holes 54 (four as herein shown) formed in its periphery, said holes being engaged by a sliding locking-bolt 55, Figs. 7 and 8, said bolt having a stem 56, slidably mounted in an axially-socketed slide 57 the stem 56 being backed bya com pression-spring 58, housed in the socket of the slide 57 and having a laterally-extending pin or lug 59, possessing a limited play in a longitudinal slot 60 of the slide. The slide 57 is in 'turn slidably mounted in a tubular casing or sleeve 61 and has a laterally-projectingpin 62, operating in a longitudinal slot 63 in said sleeve 61, which pin 62 is engaged by the upper arm of a lever 64, pivoted at 65 to a suitable bracketplate on the main frame and having a depending arm lying in the path of travel of a pair of tappets 66 and 67, fast on the connectings rod 38. By reason of this construction it will be seen that when the lever 64 is struck by the tappet 66 on the idle or return movement of the pawl 41 the slide 57 and locking-bolt 55 will be retracted from the ring or disk 53, thus freeing the shaft 14; but during the operative movement of the arm 39 and pawl 41 when the carrier-chain is driven the tappet 67 will IIO Mfr

strike the lever 64 from the opposite side, thereby advancing slide 57 and compressing spring 58 against the end of stem 56, the latter being held against movement by the engagement of the nose of the locking-bolt 55 with the periphery of the ring 53 until said ring has reached a position at which one of the holes 54 is opposite the locking-bolt, whereupon the spring' 58 will instantly snap the latter into said hole, thereby locking the shaft 14 against further movement, this action occurring at the instant when a ham-supporting table has been brought directly beneath the branding-tool. The locking-bolt is retracted in the manner already described before the next advance movement of the endless platecarrier.

r1`he machine as thus far described is complete for the purpose of applying the branding-marks, and its manner of operation in the performance of this function has already been suficiently indicated, the intermittent or stepby-step travel bringing the ham or bacon supporting' plates successively beneath the branding-tool and the latter rising and falling in properly-timed relation to coperate therewith. l will next describe that portion of the machine whereby the hams or liitches after havingbeen branded are cleaned and polished. This latter operation is effected primarily by means of a series of cylindrical brushes 68, that are mounted to rotate at a high speed above and across the path of travel of the branded articles, said brushes when operating upon hams or similar articles having a rounded or convex upper surface, being also given a bodily oscillating movement substantially in the arc of a circle, so as to completely clean and polish the entire vside of the ham exposed to their action. The brushes 68, as herein shown, are mounted in and between a pair of side plates 69, disposed above the parallel sides of the main frame and in rear of the branding-tool. These plates 69 are supported on a pair of links 70, said links being pivoted at their upper ends to the plates 69 and at their lower ends to the horizontal main frame members 11` whereby it is evident that a longitudinal reciprocating movement imparted to said plates must produce a compound to-and-fro and up-and-down movement of the latter, thereby causing the vseveral brushes to move bodily in substantially semi-oval paths. The brushes 68 are preferably not journaled fixedly in the plates 69, but their journals are confined in vertical slots 69u of said plates and are hung from vertically-adjustable uprights 71, carried by the latter by means of long tension-springs 72, whereby the brushes may readily adjust themselves vertically to any inequalities in the surface contour of the hams, at the same time maintaining-a perfect cleaning and polishing Contact with the latter by virtue of so much of their gravity effect asis not counterbalanced by the springs 7 2.

As above stated, the brushes 68 are most effective when rotated at a high rate of speed, and the means for thus rotating them simultaneously with their bodily-oscillating movement is more particularly shown in the side elevational view, Fig'. 2, wherein 73 designates a sprocket-wheel fast on one end of shaft 33, behind the large gear 32, from which a chain 74 drives a small sprocket 75 on a short shaft 76, journaled in the frame member 11, said shaft having' a large sprocket 77, in turn driving a chain 78, operating a similar pair of sprockets 79 and 80 on another short shaft 81, the sprocket 8O similarly, through a chain 82, operating another pair of sprockets 83 and 84 on a short shaft 85, the sprocket 84 in turn driving a short sprocketchain 86, that passes over asprocket 87, Figs. 3 and 4, on a short shaft 88, journaled in a bracket 89, carried by one of the oscillating plates 69. Shaft 88 also has a sprocket 90, that drives a chain 91, passing over a series of sprockets 92 on the brush-shafts. By reason of the fact that the small sprocket 87 is moved bodily in a path that is substantially the arc of a circle struck from the center of its driving-sprocket 84 said sprocket 87 is continuously driven,and thereby continuously drives, through the described connections, the shafts of the several brushes. It will be observed that the speed of the last-described gearing is multiplied several times between the primary driving-sprocket 73 and the driven sprocket-pinions 92 of the brush-shafts, whereby a comparatively slow rotation of the former is converted into a very high speed of the latter.

It simply remains to briefiy describe the means for bodily reciprocating the brush-carrying frame. This means, as herein shown, consists of a grooved eccentric 93 on shaft 33, Fig. 1, that engages a roller 94 on the upper end of a lever 95, that is pivoted at 96 outside one of the standards 27 and 'at its lower end is connected by a link 97 with a rod 98, connecting' the forward ends of the side plates 69. The rotations of the eccentric 93 obviously result in oscillating lever 95 on its pivot, thereby moving the brush-supporting' frames bodily to and fro over the underlying carrier- IOO IIO

plates, the links 70, supporting the latter, at

the same time compelling a simultaneous rishams.

It is evident that variations and modifications in respect to details of construction and relative disposition of parts might be made by i those skilled in the art without departing from the principle of my invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof. Hence it is to be understood that I do not limit the invention to the machine as shown and described,

eXcept to the extent indicated in specific claims.

I claim-- 1. In a machine for branding hams and iiitches of bacon, the combination with a vertically-reciprocable branding-tool, of an endless-chain carrier mounted to travel across the path of movement of said branding-tool, said carrier having mounted thereon a series of supports each comprising a plate having pins or spurs adapted to position a flitch of bacon thereon, and a saddle adapted to seat a ham removably secured to said plate, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for branding hams and iitches of bacon, the combination with a vertically-reciprocable branding-tool, of an endless-chain carrier mounted to travel across the path of movement of said branding-tool, said carrier having mounted thereon a series of supports each comprising a plate having pins or spurs adapted to position a fiitch of bacon thereon and a saddle adapted to seat a ham removably secured to said plate and covering said pins or spurs, substantially as described.

3. Ina ham-branding machine, the combination with a vertically-reciprocable branding-tool,of an endless carrier mounted to travel across the path of movement of said brandingtool, a series of ham-supporting plates mountedon said carrier, means for intermittently driving the latter so as to move said plates successively to a position beneath the branding-tool, and means for preventing the over throw of said carrier comprising a fixed stop member fast on one of the carrier-driving parts, a spring-pressed slidable stop member cooperating with said iiXed stop member, and automatic means for reti-acting said sliding stop member between successive movements of the carrier, substantially as described.

4. In a ham branding and polishing machine, the combination with a traveling carrier for the-hams and means for applying the brand to the latter, of a brush mounted above said carrier across the path of travel of the hams, and means for imparting to said brush a combined rotary and bodily movement, substantially as described.

5. In a ham branding and polishing machine, the combination with a traveling carrier for the hams and means for applying the brand to the latter, of a brush mounted above said carrier across the path of the hams, and means for imparting to said brush a combined rotary and bodily-Oscillating movement, substantially as described.

6. In a ham branding and polishing machine, the combination with a traveling carrier for the hams andmeans for applying the brand to the latter, of a brush mounted above said carrier across the path Of travel of the hams, means for rotating said brush, and means for simultaneously imparting thereto a bodily-oscillating movement over the conveX upper surfaceof the hams, substantially as described.

7. Ina ham branding and polishing machine, the combination with a traveling earrier for the hams, and means for applying the brand to the latter, of a brush mounted in elastically-supported journals above said carrier across the path of travel of the hams, and means for rotating said brush, substantially as described.

8. In a ham branding and polishing Inachine, the combination with a traveling carrier for the hams and means for applying the brand to the latter, of a brush mounted in elastically-supported journals above said carrier across the path Of travel of the hams, means for rotating said brush, and means for simultaneously imparting thereto an oscillating bodily movement over the upper surface of the hams, substantially as described.

9. In a ham branding and polishing machine, the combination with a traveling earrier for the hams and means for applying the brand to the latter, of means for polishingthe upper surface of the hams comprising a brushcarrying frame oscillatingly mounted on the carrier-frame above the carrier, and one or more rotary brushes mounted in said frame and adapted to sweep over the upper surface of the hams, substantially as described.

10. In a ham branding and polishing machine, the combination with a traveling carrier for the hams and means for applying the brand to the latter, of means for polishing the upper surfaces of the hams comprising a pair of plates disposed longitudinally of and above the sides of the carrier-supporting frame, links pivotally supporting said plates upon and above said carrier-frame, one or more rotary brushes journaled in and between said plates, and means for imparting a longitudi- Daily-reciprocating movement to said brushcarrying plates, substantially as described.

11. In a ham branding and polishing machine, the combination with a traveling carrier for the hams and means for applying the brandl to the latter, of means for polishing the upper surfaces ofthe hams comprising a brushcarrying frame, one or more rotary brushes mounted in said frame, tension-springs elastically suspending the journals of said brush or brushes in said brush-frame, and means for imparting a longitudinally Oscillating movement to said brush-carrying frame, substantially as described.

RUDOLPH WIRTH.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL N. POND, FREDERICK C. GOODWIN.

Ioo Io5 IIO 

